Last night, in the face of the imminent deadlines (books! baby!), I decided I needed a little creative break. I love what I do, but sometimes working on the same project for too long can cause creative burnout. I needed to draw

, which is a digital sketchbook by a graphic designer who draws New York windows in his free time. Each drawing is a beautiful little poem of love for his city.

So, rather than drawing children, or elephants, or giraffes, I thought I'd draw a window. This is one of the windows I see on my daily walk to the high street. It's so cheery with its bright box of geraniums and blowing curtains.

Part of this creative break also involves using different art supplies to exercise my artistic muscles. I love coloured pencils, and I don't use them nearly enough. I think I might fill my recreational sketchbook with more coloured pencil work in the near future. I love the scumbly, soft texture of the pencils on textured paper.

And while we're talking art supplies, will you indulge me while I geek out a bit and share what I used?

Sketchbook

: A5 softcover from Seawhite of Brighton

Pencil

: Faber Castell Polychromos in Burnt Umber

Watercolour

: Winsor and Newton in Alizarin Crimson

What do you do when you feel stuck on a project and need some inspiration?